


New Heroes

by angryAsexual



Category: LazyTown
Genre: Alternate Universe, Animorphs AU, Canon-Typical Violence, Canon-typical as in Animorphs canon, Fae Glanni Glæpur, Fae Robbie Rotten, Multiple Points of View, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Stephanie/Trixie in later chapters, all the kids are aged up to be about thirteen-fourteen, not exactly an Animorphs AU but more Animorphs Inspired
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-03-16
Updated: 2018-03-23
Packaged: 2019-04-01 01:15:08
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,968
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13987296
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/angryAsexual/pseuds/angryAsexual
Summary: My name is Stephanie. Not just Stephanie, of course. In fact, that isn’t even my real name! But I can’t tell you what is. I can’t tell anyone that. For all I know, they could be a Faerie. For all I know, YOU could be a Faerie...Humans and Elves have had an uneasy peace with the Faeries for several long centuries. And with the rise of Glanni Glæpur, it seemed as though the three races would end up developing a strong alliance. But like all things involving Glæpur, that all went to shit.Inspired by the Animorphs series written by K.A. Applegate.





	1. The Hero's Gift

**Author's Note:**

> Hey there! This is my first time writing a proper fanfiction (or anything really) in a long time, so please be patient with me if that shows for the first few chapters. Hope you enjoy!

My name is Stephanie. Not _just_ Stephanie, of course. In fact, that isn’t even my real name! But I can’t tell you what is. I can’t tell _anyone_ that. For all I know, they could be a faerie. For all I know, YOU could be a faerie. I’m sure you understand. But if, somehow, by some miracle, you don’t, let me explain.

The faeries are a powerful race of creatures that take up roughly half of Earth’s population. They have lots of magic, but it was very rarely used against humanity until very recently. In fact, faeries as a whole never really did anything to outwardly harm humans. Steal children, yeah. Cause tricks and mayhem now and then, sure. But anyone could get a child back if they were enough of a quick thinker, and their tricks were never outright harmful for the most part. Sure, you got one or two meanies that actually wanted to hurt people, but they were few and far between and at the time it was relatively easy to protect yourself. And on top of that, there were the elves. They acted as sort of peace keepers. They were kind and helpful, and did their best to get humanity to flourish. If ever a human needed help, an elf would be close by. They lived everywhere except for in Faerieland, so it wouldn’t be too strange to find out one of your neighbors, or maybe a teacher, was actually an elf that was very good at keeping that little detail a secret. 

But that was a while ago. Things are really different, now. 

Now, there’s less than half the amount of elves as there are humans, and both races are getting weaker and weaker as the faerie armies spread throughout the world. Ruthless and bloodthirsty, intent on turning all of Earth into Faerieland.

The Fae didn’t use to be this way. For a long time they lived peacefully with all creatures of Earth. It wasn’t until their current leader, Glanni Glæpur, came to power. He was charming and kind and just…seemed trustworthy. You’d look at him and see a friendly, although maybe a bit eccentric, faerie who tried his best to look as nonthreatening as possible. He was always smiling, and in videos he genuinely seemed like a great guy! People around him seemed to love being in his presence. Nobody would have ever thought Glanni was anything but great. Even I thought he was great at first. He said that our races weren’t meant to be apart, that we were all creations of Mother Nature and because of that we should live together. He painted a picture of a beautiful world where there was no war, no famine, and no disease. Humans would be gifted with Elven and Fae magic so we wouldn’t be as weak, and we’d all help each other.

It was all lies.

Glæpur was eventually named leader of Faeriekind when the previous leader felt their strength lessening and had to step down, and humans and elves alike were happy to welcome him. We were eager to see the changes he promised us, working alongside the faeries to achieve Glæpur’s goals. But he betrayed us all. With the aid of his closest generals he started to overthrow the leaders of the human cities surrounding Faerieland and placed his own people in command. The faeries used magic and sheer intimidation too keep humans under their rule as they slowly spread. There were rebellions, duh, but what could we do? Humans are weak compared to them. It’s a miracle we didn’t all get wiped out within the first three years. The only thing keeping us alive was humanity’s comparatively weak army, and the elven Heroes.

The elven Heroes are the elite fighting force of the elves. They have incredible superhuman strength, speed, and agility, as well as very powerful nature and healing based magic. They can speak to and in some cases control animals, and some were able to control plants too. And the Heroes have trained their whole lives to be soldiers. Protectors. They’d be terrifying if they weren’t so friendly and loving. Well, okay, they still ARE terrifying. But they never hurt their allies. And they’re actually really fun to be around, too!

Right now there are nine Heroes, and they act as the generals of the Elven armies stationed in or near human cities. My own city’s Hero was named Íþróttaálfurinn, and he and his small army did an amazing job of keeping Glanni’s forces at bay. We learned that he was one of the few elves Glanni actually feared, if not the only one. But he really didn’t seem scary at all. He was excitable, easygoing, and a bit of a trickster. My friends and I, and everyone else in our city, loved him. Even with all the bad things happening around us, we just couldn’t be sad with Íþró around. Maybe it was his magic or maybe it was his personality, I don’t know. But he just radiated happiness and good will. It’s no wonder he was made a Hero. 

But that was then. Back when there was hope. And happiness. Now we don’t have much of those things anymore, all thanks to Glanni. The day he took that from us started out like any other regular day. I woke up and did my morning stretches and meditation, something Íþró taught us to help keep ourselves close to nature. He also taught us a sort of prayer that the elves say when they do it, and I had gotten into the habit of saying it too.

I began by stretching my hands up, eyes closing. “May the warmth of the Sun brighten my soul, and keep me from darkness,” I said. I pictured a bright light radiating from me, before lowering my hands and spreading them to the sides, lifting my chin. “May the Wind always support me, and keep me from falling.” Next I moved my body forward until I was bent forward, arms stretching out before me. “May the Water cleanse me, washing away fear and self-doubt.” And lastly I straightened up before lowering myself to sit down and begin meditating, quietly speaking the last bit of the prayer. “And may Mother Earth nurture me and fill me with her love.”

I kept my breathing slow and steady, cleaning my mind like Íþró showed my friends and I. The familiar peacefulness of the meditation settled over me and I felt my body relax. It felt almost like I was floating. Then suddenly I was jarred from the sense of calm by the sound of someone running towards me, wheezing slightly.

I opened my eyes to see Ziggy, one of my best friends, sprinting towards me. He looked scared, and I quickly jumped to my feet. “Ziggy, what’s wrong!?”

“It-it-it—It’s Íþró!” He cried, hands clenching and unclenching the hem of his shirt as he tried to breathe slower. “I was going for a walk when I heard something. And-and I went to look, and he and his soldiers had fighting Glanni in the forest, and…he got injured, Stephanie, we have to help him, come on!”

He grabbed my hand and just like that we were off. Pixel’s house was on the way and we pounded the door, yelling for him to join us. Thankfully Stingy and Trixie were there too and we didn’t waste any more time before running off to where Íþró was. We found him a little ways inside the forest bordering our town, separating us from Faerieland and the two towns on either side of us. Íþró was leaning up against a tree, clutching his badly-bleeding side and panting hard. His face was pale, and we could see him shaking. His soldiers were nowhere to be found, and that could only mean the worst. They’d never leave their leader like this.

“Íþró!!” I yelled, sprinting forward the rest of the way with the others close behind. I practically fell beside our Hero, and he looked over at me weakly. Fear was in his eyes, and seeing that made it feel like ice water had been dumped all over me. “What…what happened?” I whispered.

“You must go,” he hissed. He made a gurgling sound as he breathed in, reaching out with a bloody hand and lightly pushing at me. “Glanni. He…he is coming to finish me off.”

“No!” It was Trixie who cried out, voice filled with terror—terror, and anger. “We can stay and fight him off with you!”

She reached to her side and pulled her slingshot from its holster, and Íþró very briefly smiled. He had enchanted it to make the stones fired from it always hit their mark.

“No, Trixie. This is my fight. And I cannot let you little ones get hurt…”

“But you can’t die! Y-you’re my Hero.” It was Stingy who whimpered out the words, but his usual note of possessiveness was completely gone from his voice. There was only terror. “W-we can find number Ten! He’ll help you!”

Number Ten. He was Íþró’s younger brother and future successor. I had only met him very briefly. He was just as friendly as Íþró and even more excitable and jumpy. He sort of made me think of a puppy, especially with how he seemed to be bursting with excitement at all times. But we had no idea where he was, as he wasn’t yet an official Hero and had his location kept secret for safety, so no one could hurt him. Íþró smiled again at the thought of his brother, but it was sad. My breath hitched as I realized he wouldn’t be able to see number Ten again.

“No. There is no time, I will be found at any second.” But he still looked around at the five of us slowly. I could tell he was thinking quickly as he was dying. I reached out and carefully took the hand not covering his wound.

“Íþró? What is it?” I asked, trying to get him to speak. I tensed and instinctively pulled back as I heard a burst of magical energy being fired off no more than a mile or so away from us. My friends clustered closer to the Hero and he slowly, painfully, sat himself higher up against the tree.

“We cannot get my brother. He will not arrive soon enough with backup to help you. But there is one thing I can do. All of you come close to me. Quickly!”

His voice took on a slightly authoritative edge, a tone we had only heard him use once or twice. We obeyed as quickly as we could, the sounds of the chase getting closer. Íþró was breathing harder now, the gurgling sound getting worse. “All of you put your hands on my arm.”

We reached out, making room for each other so we could all grasp at his arm, trying to avoid the injured parts. Now I had a chance to look at him more closely, and he seemed to have gotten lots of burns and cuts all over. It looked so painful, but he seemed to be able to ignore the injuries for now. Íþró closed his eyes and fell silent for several seconds. Then he took a deep breath and spoke, his voice deep and solemn.

I felt the magic inside of his words. It made the air around us vibrate with energy, and without thinking I tensed up.

“With my dying breaths,” he began, “I, Íþróttaálfurinn, transfer my power.” He didn’t react when we all let out cries of protest. In fact, he seemed to grow bolder with his words. “May these humans take my magical energy and be gifted my strength, my speed, and my power.” We were rooted to the spot, unable to pull away even if we wanted as the magic began binding itself to us. “May they become one with the forces of Mother Earth, and keep Her and Her children safe.” His eyes opened, seeming to glow as he looked at each of us in turn, tearfully getting our last look at our Hero. “With my dying breaths, I name these children Heroes.”

I felt a sudden jolt as Íþróttaálfurinn’s power flowed into me, my friends all reacting the same way. It was like I had grown twenty times my size! I felt stronger than I ever had, like I could run the world’s longest marathon and not feel the slightest bit exhausted. Like I could make entire forests spring up through dead fields, like I was invincible. And looking around, I could see Ziggy, Pixel, Stingy, and Trixie were feeling the same effects. Slowly we looked back to Íþróttaálfurinn, who now seemed like a mere shell of the Elf he once was. He smiled at us with a mixture of pride and sadness. 

“You are the Heroes now, until my people can come here and fend off Glanni and his army. Be brave, my friends. You can do this.” 

We slowly released him, and just in time. The trees in front of us seemed to simply explode, showering us with dirt and splinters. We didn’t have a chance to say goodbye to our Hero, turning and running for cover as a sinister laughter filled out ears. Glanni had found Íþróttaálfurinn.


	2. The Death of a Hero

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger warning for death and somewhat graphic depictions of torture that could probably seen from miles away.

The cackling grew louder, reaching a mad intensity. My friends and I had hidden ourselves behind an overturned log, barely daring to look out over it. Thankfully, Glanni and his soldiers were too focused on Íþróttaálfurinn to notice us. The Faerie was wearing his usual black leather catsuit, somehow looking ridiculous AND intimidating in it. Pure malice seemed to stream from him as he stepped towards Íþró, a wicked grin on his face. For several tense seconds he just stood there, grinning down at him, before he lifted a foot and violently kicking him in the face. It knocked Íþró onto his side, yelling out in pain. I tensed, tears in my eyes as someone grabbed at my hand. I squeezed tightly, dimly aware of Trixie scooting closer to me and shaking. With anger or fear, I wasn’t sure which. But whatever it was, it got stronger when Glanni finally spoke.

“I’ve _finally_ caught you. The brave Hero Íþróttaálfurinn~” His voice was silky, almost charming as he sneered down at our Hero. Íþró did a good job at not seeming afraid on the outside, but the magic he gave us made me able to almost smell his terror. I realized that even if Íþró had his powers he still wouldn’t have been able to fight off Glanni. Not while he was bleeding out, and not while so many of his soldiers were around. The Faeries all looked like terrifying monsters, not bothering with glamours like Glanni did. They were large with twisted bodies, spines growing out irregularly from them, eyes glowing evilly as they twitched their wings; large and iridescent insect-like things. Glanni continued on. “Such a shame you’re dying here, laying in a pool of your own blood with none of your precious soldiers getting to watch. I would have _loved_ to put on a show for them, my dearest Íþró.”

He leaned down and grabbed Íþró by the hair, knocking off his hat in the process before yanking him off the forest floor. Glanni licked his lips and grinned again, bits of his glamour falling to reveal his form. Sharp, jagged yellow teeth poked out under his thick, black-painted lips, and his silver-grey eyes were glowing like the rest of the Faeries’. Somehow I noticed is pupils were a light, glowing pink. He giggled, wings slowly raising off his back and stretching out to their full size, the iridescent pink membrane glinting in the light. 

“Oh, you look so fucking _pretty_ when you’re scared. I only wish I could have you looking at me like this more often,” he said, practically cooing down at Íþró. I felt a wave of disgust, and Trixie’s grip on my hand tightened at the shared feeling. “But this is a LOVELY last look of you. Don’t you think, my dears?” He lifted his head and looked around at the gathered Faeries, who all cackled with excitement. That just got Glanni get even more worked up. “Oh I can’t _wait_ to rip that lovely skin from your body, hear your dying screams as I drink down your blood, and crush your bones with my bare _fucking_ hands.”

Íþró growled defiantly, baring his lightly pointed teeth in a snarl up at his soon-to-be murderer. “Quit your rambling, Glæpur, and finish me off. Or are you too scared to?” he sneered, and I tried my hardest not to cheer him on. Even inches from death and clearly terrified, he was still challenging Glanni. 

Íþró’s comment had Glanni’s smile twist into a snarl of fury, and he let go of Íþró’s hair long enough to slap him hard. The sound was loud and I flinched, feeling Trixie slowly release my hand to hug me. Next to me Pixel moved closer, and glancing over I saw Stingy holding Ziggy, who had silent tears rolling down on his cheeks. I tore my eyes away from my friends and looked back to our Hero. But it was really hard to look at. Glanni was gripping his hair again, and it looked like he was too weak to keep a hand pressed to the wound in his side anymore. I guess the only reason he hadn’t bled to death was because Elves were just super resilient. 

“How could I ever be scared of a weak old fool like YOU, Íþróttaálfurinn? You’re pathetic. An IDIOT to have ever thought you or your stupid brother could ever stop me. Oh, if only I could have brought him here to watch~”

“WHAT HAVE YOU DONE WITH SPORTACUS!?”

Íþróttaálfurinn’s maddened shriek made us all flinch back. Even Glanni and his soldiers looked shocked, a few pulling back as now Íþró’s rage mixed with Glanni’s evil aura. But Glanni recovered quickly and laughed again, the sound chilling. Somehow I could imagine poor number Ten, Sportacus, chained up in some horrible dungeon of Glanni’s. Did he know what was happening to his older brother? Or did he hope he was coming for him, that he would free him? I cried a little more at the thought of the sweet Hero, weakened but still expecting the rescue that will never come.

“Your precious baby brother is lockedsafely away in my castle, dearest Íþróttaálfurinn. But don’t worry, I haven’t started having my _fun_ with him just yet.”

Something about the way Glanni said the word “fun” made my stomach churn and I felt sick. Pixel shuddered beside me, curling up a little so he couldn’t see anymore. I reached out and put a hand on his back. But Pixel quickly looked up again when suddenly Íþróttaálfurinn let out a strangled cry of rage. He summoned up what little remained of his strength and lunged at Glanni, clearly intending to tackle him. But Glanni slipped to the side, easily tripping Íþró and laughing as he landed on his face. He placed a boot on Íþró’s back, pinning him down. He wouldn’t get up on his own again. I knew he wouldn’t, and so did Glanni. But he removed his foot from Íþró’s back and grasped him by the hair once more. This time he pulled Íþró to his feet, and glanced at two of his soldiers. “Hold him,” he ordered, and the pair marched forward. They grabbed him, digging their claws into Íþró’s skin painfully. Glanni stepped back and dramatically let his glamour fall. He seemed to grow several feet, his pale skin slowly turning to a sickening pinkish-grey color. His catsuit hardened and started to look like an exoskeleton, spikes growing up from his shoulders and down his spine, between his huge wings. Glanni’s already-clawed nails grew into wicked talons, and he dragged one down Íþró’s cheek.

“Oh, how I’ve longed for this.”

With no warning Glanni brought his hand down, talons ripping through Íþró’s leather armor and into his skin. He screamed, and I covered my mouth to keep from screaming too. Tears were in his eyes now, and they fell down his cheeks as Glanni tore into him again and again. The torture ended after what seemed like years. I could see Íþró’s blood soaking the ground, dripping from terrifyingly deep wounds in his chest and stomach. I made the mistake of looking closer and nearly threw up. I could see his bones where the skin had been ripped away, and the sight of his mangled body would be seared into my brain for the rest of my life. Glanni grinned as he observed his work, then opened his mouth wide. I wanted to look away, but I kept my eyes on the two. Somehow I felt like Íþró deserved to have someone watch is last moments, so that at least one person knew how he never begged for mercy or tried to run, but instead glared weakly up at Glanni despite the tears falling down his cheeks. Then Glanni lurched forward and clamped his jaws around Íþró’s neck, burying his fangs inside before jerking his head back. He chewed the muscle and skin and swallowed before cackling, the evil sound filling the forest. I couldn’t look away as the Faeries dropped Íþró’s mangled body, only barely aware of the sound of Ziggy quietly retching. But even through his laughter, Glanni heard it. The horrible noise was cut off as he looked around wildly, the other Faeries now seeming to realize someone was watching. Oh gods, I thought. We’re dead. He’s going to capture us and torture us and—

But suddenly a tree behind Glanni gave a strange shudder before its roots tore out of the ground. With great effort it pulled itself out the rest of the way and lurched forwards on its roots as if it was walking. I could see Glanni’s eyes widen as he turned, shrieking in frustration as his victory was interrupted. But it gave us enough time to get up and sprint away. I heard Ziggy crying, pulled along by Stingy.

“Split up!” I yelled. “It’ll be harder for them to catch us!”

Stingy yanked Ziggy off to the right and Pixel tore ahead. I pulled away from Trixie and she went off in her own direction as I ran. I hadn’t run that fast in my life, and I had Íþróttaálfurinn’s gift to thank for that. Somehow I managed to evade capture, and later on I’d learn that the forest itself had helped me and my friends escape. It was old and wise and had watched over us countless times as we played inside it. So it protected us, moving its trees together behind us to slow Glanni's forces or using roots and vines to grab at them. Had it not helped us, I don’t think I ever would have made it to my uncle’s house.

But finally I burst out of the forest, using my last bint of strength to sprint to my home. I burst in through the door, startling my uncle into dropping something. He stared at me with wide eyes, and I knew I must have looked terrible. But before he could say anything I felt myself run to him and hug tight, screaming and sobbing into his chest as he hugged me in confusion.

“Stephanie! Stephanie, my dear, what’s wrong!?” he cried, confusion and fear in his voice.

I took several shuddering breaths as I tried to collect myself, not sure if I'd be able to speak. I nearly threw up before managing to choke out a response. “Í-Íþróttaálfurinn… Íþróttaálfurinn’s dead. Glanni m-murdered him!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I feel like this chapter is way too short, so I may go in later and add a bit more to it. Still, I hope you found it enjoyable! This killed me to write, I have no idea why I'm doing this to myself...


End file.
